Smith, a lock to be selected Saturday, and Haley are among 17 HOF finalists.

Johnston, Haley and Smith were part of the Cowboys teams that won three Super Bowls in a four-year span in the 1990s.

The Cowboys had an awful pass rush in 1991, finishing 26th in the 28-team league with 23 sacks in an 11-5 wild-card season that saw them beat the Chicago Bears 17-13 in a wild-card game but lose 38-6 to the Detroit Lions in the divisional playoffs.

After Dallas acquired Charles Haley in a 1992 with San Francisco, Dallas recorded 44 sacks and won its first Super Bowl of the decade.

“That was the one piece that was missing from our team,” Johnston said Thursday. “In 1991, we were good, but we didn’t generate a lot of turnovers, we weren’t getting sacks, and those are the things you have to have to be a great team. We didn’t have that presence on the outside that anybody had to account for when they were doing their offensive game plans.

“Charles came in added an element to our defense as a pass rusher. Now you have to account for him. Now you may need to chip or put a tight end. You have to do something to make sure your quarterback is safe because Charles is coming off that backside. Now Tony Tolbert gets a lot more one on ones. That’s what great players do, they elevate everybody around them, and Charles really elevated our defense.”

Johnston also said the offense, particularly left tackle Mark Tuinei, improved because of Haley.

“I asked Mark Tuinei, ‘You don’t make the Pro Bowl until your 12th year and then you make it two years in a row, how did that happen,’ ” Johnston said. “He told me that Charles taught him so much by telling him what he was thinking. He taught Mark that if he was going against a speed rusher, he had to get to a spot back there before I have to get to before he gets to.

Johnston also raved about Haley’s leadership, pointing out that it was an outburst by Haley that forced owner Jerry Jones to settle a contract dispute with Smith that threatened to de-rail the Cowboys’ quest to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles.

Smith sat out the first two games of the season, both losses that came with rookie Derrick Lassie starting at tailback. But after the second loss, Haley smashed his helmet through a wall in the locker room and reportedly screamed, “Get Emmitt back in here. We’re never going to win with a (expletive) rookie.”

“He was signed that Monday, so the message was received,” said Johnston, smiling. “He said exactly what all of us (were thinking)…Something needed to bed done. Charles put his helmet through the wall and he challenged Jerry to get (Smith) in and Jerry listened.”

The Cowboys finished 12-4 and became the first team to start 0-2 and still reach and win the Super Bowl.

Like Smith, Johnston said Haley

“I don’t think he ever got the credit he really deserved,” Johnston said. “I think everybody talked about the sacks and the pressures and everything he has done there, but he was a great teammate. There were a lot of stories coming out of San Francisco. And when he came to our team, a lot of us were kind of nervous about what to expect from Charles, and he got there and I can’t tell you how great of a teammate he was.”